


The Tinman

by MissusOG



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU (supernatural), Angst, Destiel - Freeform, Fluff, Graphic Violence, Inclimate Weather, M/M, Supernatural - Freeform, Wicked Witch, Wizard of Oz Inspired, action adventure, dean/cas - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 11:51:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8142770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissusOG/pseuds/MissusOG
Summary: When Castiel was four and thunderstorms had terrified him, his mother would tuck him into bed, lulling him to sleep with lullabies his grandmother had taught her. His absolute favorite was “Somewhere over the Rainbow”. He would sit up in bed in his bee printed pajamas, because he really really really liked bees, and his ethereal blue eyes would be jumping with curiosity. Castiel would eagerly ask his mother, “Do you think there are whole other worlds over the rainbow?” His mother, Naomi Novak with her light blue eyes, would laugh and tousle his similarly dark brown hair and reply the same thing she did every night: “I suppose.” When she left the room, Castiel would curl around his pillow and dream of decaying yellow brick roads, tall, gangly scarecrows, and a man made of tin - so brave and fearless - that it would take his breath away. Even when the witches in his dream were at their most fearsome, the tin man would never fail to save him. EDIT: Searching for a Beta to help make my story the best version of itself please comment if you are interested.





	1. Toto

**Author's Note:**

> I have found a lovely beta Infinate_latte you were a godsend for this story to get back on its feet. I can't thank you enough. Still need some assistance for editing for anyone interested. I will be updating this story hopefully twice a month.

Toto, Kansas

Castiel James Novak remembers his first few summers in Kansas. How the earth would be baked dry by the unforgiving Midwestern sun. How the air, heavy with humidity, would break into a rolling thunderous storm that would shake the ground and rip up the corn and wheat fields with wild abandon. He had always been fascinated with those storms, mostly the unpredictable nature of them. One moment could be still - calm even - and the next, dark rolling clouds would bring absolute devastation. 

When he was four and thunderstorms had terrified him, his mother would tuck him into bed, lulling him to sleep with lullabies his grandmother had taught her. His absolute favorite was “Somewhere over the Rainbow”. He would sit up in bed in his bee printed pajamas, because he really really really liked bees, and his ethereal blue eyes would be jumping with curiosity. Castiel would eagerly ask his mother, “Do you think there are whole other worlds over the rainbow?” His mother, Naomi Novak with her light blue eyes, would laugh and tousle his similarly dark brown hair and reply the same thing she did every night: “I suppose.” When she left the room, Castiel would curl around his pillow and dream of decaying yellow brick roads, tall, gangly scarecrows, and a man made of tin - so brave and fearless - that it would take his breath away. Even when the witches in his dream were at their most fearsome, the tin man would never fail to save him. 

Castiel had found his love for nature through his mom's love for gardening. Naomi would sit behind Castiel, helping his small hands dig into the freshly tilled earth. “Momma why are we planting flowers?” He had always been a curious child, always asking questions. While Naomi appreciated the fact that the questions were easy enough to answer at his age, soon they wouldn't be such simple answers. He would ask why they didn't have a father, as a mother and a strong independent woman raising her boys on her own, she had always hated that question. Charles ‘Chuck’ Novak, the boy's father who looked most like her eldest two children, had disappeared looking for his long lost sister. Naomi had been left with little to nothing to keep food in her boys stomachs and a roof over their heads. She had been lucky enough to get a job with her nursing degree, with little to no experience. For twelve years she hadn't used her degree, not since before the birth of her first born. “Well sweetie, we are planting these flowers so that the bees are happy.” Castiel looked seriously down at the precious seeds in his small hands and declared quietly to his mother, “I would like that. I would like to help the bees.” His mother leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his head as she helped him delicately push the seeds in the small hole they had dug together. It would all be okay, she would give her boys everything they needed to grow and flourish just like she would these flowers. Everything would work out alright. 

At eight, the Novak Boys had developed a reputation for trouble around the neighborhood. They were constantly being led by Michael, the eldest at twelve, on crusades. With good intentions, of course. They didn't mean to flood Missouri’s basement when they turned on her hose to help water her plants, unfortunately getting distracted by an epic battle for knighthood and forgetting to turn it off. They never meant to dig up Becky's old house cat’s grave, in Gabriel's own words at a sharp seven and a half, “I mean she didn't even have a headstone, come on!” Castiel had agreed, “I was unaware of the proper etiquette of burying a loved one,” or Lucifer’s, “I thought they were dinosaur bones.” Lucifer, second in command because he was eleven, always found a way to get them out of trouble. With his soulful, shockingly blue eyes, slick apologies and promises of helping mow lawns or shovel driveways which he was conveniently absent for when the favor was called upon. Gabriel, with his wild brown hair and warm chocolate eyes, found his calling in being a middle child. He found he got away with the most outlandish pranks. Including the infamous 07’ debacle when he placed a dead mouse in Ellen Harvelle's mailbox, which had gotten them all boxed around the ears. Super glue, itching powder, fake crop circles, Gabriel Novak had been responsible for all. Castiel, the youngest Novak at six, had found his own fascination in thunderstorms; insisting he would grow up to be a stormchaser one day. His brothers had humored him, taking their bikes out when wild storms had peppered the Midwest. When the wind was rough and tugging at the wheat fields, pulling on their hair, Michael would lead them to the tallest hill as they would watch Mother Nature in battle. Castiel had felt her power tugging at his clothes, caressing his skin and whispering to him through the pelting rain, “Not this one, maybe the next.” That summer they had cut it close, a funnel cloud had descended and Michael had to lead them back home through rain blinding conditions where their mother had scolded them for their dangerous game. 

Eventually, like all children, Castiel had to grow up. He became too wise to risk his life chasing storms, too old for lullabies, too grown up to play pranks; just like Gabriel, Lucifer and Micheal before him. Although to be fair, saying Gabriel grew up was a stretch, maybe graduated to higher level pranks. Castiel learned that rainbows are just a refraction and dispersion of light from the reflection off of water droplets. Other worlds weren't hidden in their colors and while another dimension could theoretically be where a rainbow was, it just wasn't the easily accessible travel his childlike mind had imagined in its wonder. When Castiel was 12 years old, Michael and Lucifer had just graduated highschool, leaving the homestead for college. Michael was heading off to NYU, having performed at the top of his class in both extracurricular and academia, he wanted to be a businessman like their father; always trying to please. Lucifer graduated a year early for no other reason than the fact he wanted to irk Michael, who as the eldest, wanted to always be the first in their band of brothers to do something. Lucifer was heading off to Harvard, just for general study, but he thought about pre law. He would be a shark in the courtroom. It was quiet without the bickering of the two eldest Novaks, only Mom, Cas and Gabe were left, and the old farmhouse felt empty without his brothers there. 

He moved on to sports, specifically track and field, through which he met his best friend: a fiery redhead named Charlie who had helped him form the GS Alliance club freshmen year of high school. They would stay up late playing video games every weekend. Somehow, they would always end up laying on the trampoline in her backyard, looking at the stars, and for a brief moment he would remember when he felt nature thrumming through his veins and rain beating against his skin. When the world felt like more than just ‘grow up, get a job, get married, have kids and die’. He had moved on, but his skin would still prickle whenever they would get a particularly bad storm. He would be safely shut away inside his room, the rain pelting against his window instead of his skin, and Castiel would ignore the feeling of ‘not this one… maybe the next.’

When Castiel was fourteen years old, his mother brought home a kitten. A coworker had brought a few of them to work, hoping for good homes for Muffin’s - her cat’s - litter. Yes, Muffin. His mother had chosen a soft grey cat with white spots and big brown eyes. She placed the kitten gently in his lap which was covered in homework, before he realized his mother had been calling his name. “She is stubborn,” his mother huffed, hands on her hips, her blue scrubs grimey after a shift at the hospital. “She just kept following me around trying to perch on my shoulder,” she smiled as the cat purred happily under Castiel’s hesitant fingers. He fell in love almost immediately. His mother smiled down at him, “What will you name her?” The cats brown eyes locked with blue, and Castiel thought about what Gabe would name her (Cupcake). Or Micheal (Cat). Or Lucifer (Hound). However, Castiel felt that she deserved a strong name, more fitting her intelligent, almost human eyes. “Dorothy,” he hummed as the cats purring grew in volume, “I'm going to call her Dorothy.”


	2. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for baring with me through the holidays hopefully you like this update! A special thanks to infinite latte for lending me her thoughts making my story the best version of itself!

Castiel cracked open one eye, glaring vaguely in the direction of his alarm clock as it shrieked. The ear splitting noise was some unearthly bird mating call that Gabriel must have changed from his usual soft rainstorm. He reached over; smacking the obnoxious shrieking box into the wall.

 

"Gabriel you jackass," Cas hollered, banging on his shared wall with the trickster. He groaned and glanced at the upended clock, knowing he had to get up for his morning classes. Once he graduated high school he was seriously never taking any college classes before 11am. Frankly, any hour before then is an ungodly hour, especially for someone named after an angel.

 

He finally stumbled out of his bed - albeit grudgingly - and shucked his boxers as he turned on the showerhead. The best thing about his mom’s farmhouse was the private bathrooms in 4 of the 5 bedrooms. He stepped under the hard spray, hoping to ease his tense muscles from his late run last night and Gabriel's rude awakening this morning. As he soaped up his hair, he did a mental checklist of everything he had to get done today. He had an AP Physics lab that morning, then Calculous and finally a glorious free period with Charlie where she would try to badger him to try out for the Spring musical. Being right on the cusp of storm season was causing his hair frizz out, making it look unkept in that just-rolled-out-of-bed look. No matter what he did, it always looked perfectly mussed. He'd given up years ago. 

 

He stepped out of the shower smelling of his natural honey-butter body wash, moving over to the sink to brush his teeth. He wondered if Inais would talk to him again today, they didn't usually flow in the same social groups. While Castiel was proficient in track and field he didn't really participate in other sports. Inais, however, was in multiple. Mostly baseball in the fall and soccer in the spring. He was your typical athlete: tall, broad shouldered, and fit. He was sure half the student body would kill to have Inais’ attention. Sadly, Castiel couldn't count himself among them. He was a realist. Everyone had motives and reasoning behind the things they did but Castiel wasn't sure what those motives were, so he was, well, awkward. Painfully missing at least half the social cues that would tell him if Inais was trying to ask him on a date or copy his Spanish homework.

 

He grabbed his last clean sweater which was some awful blue checkered thing Charlie had gotten him for his audition. He shrugged, pulling on a white t-shirt then slipping the soft sweater over his head. Then he slipped on a pair of plain pale blue boxers and his last pair of dark wash blue jeans that Gabriel insisted he hated, mumbling something about unwanted attention and bringing all the boys to the yard. Whatever that meant. Castiel flopped back on his bed pretty impressed with himself for getting ready sans coffee, before a soft ball of fur pranced across his chest and plopping herself dead center. Castiel was convinced Dorothy might be subtlety trying to end his life. Cats; you can never be sure. He quirked an eyebrow at her as she dug her paws into his chest, flexing her nails. Dominating witch. “Dorothy!” Castiel barked startling her into what would pretty much amount to a cat glare of death. “That is not polite,” he scooped her up taking her down stairs into the sprawling kitchens where his mom was already puttering around making breakfast. He placed Dorothy near her water bowl before plucking some wet food into her food dish.

 

“Eat up Brat,” he left her disinterestedly patting her paw at her food dish. 

 

“Morning sweetie,” His mom greeted him with a cup of coffee, black, just how he liked it. He grunted a thanks, kissing her cheek before sitting at the round informal kitchen table. He savored his first cup and let the caffeine work its magic. His mom was ready for work wearing the traditional blue scrubs; her dark slightly greying hair pulled back from her face. She hummed before turning off the burner and bringing three plates to the table heaped high with scrambled eggs and bacon. She winked at Cas, placing the honey near his toast. Bless his mother, she knew him too well. He sighed in contentment before drizzling his toast with honey and digging into his breakfast. 

 

“Gabriel, your waffles are done,” Naomi called up the stairs before settling herself in for family breakfast. Gabriel waltzed in a few moments later in a ragged Ramones tee and some ripped jeans. His hair was getting long, flopping into his face as his warm brown eyes locked with Castiel's. 

 

“How'd you sleep little bro?” He cackled a little bit at the end of his question as his mother continued to enjoy her breakfast oblivious to Gabriel's most recent antics. 

 

“Assbutt.” Castiel glared as Gabriel snorted, digging into his chocolate chip waffles that were practically swimming in syrup. 

 

Castiel got up from the table, filling his travel mug with his much needed third cup of coffee before wandering over to Dorothy, who was watching them with disinterest. His mother called out from the table, “Come home right after school, there is supposed to be a really bad storm tonight and I don't want you getting caught out in that weather.” Naomi called after him. 

 

“Okay,” he called back before he leaned down to pet Dorothy's soft fur, “Guess that means you are staying inside today.” She batted at his hand, clearly unhappy about being left behind. He sighed and stood up, moving to grab his backpack and heading out onto the porch. He shut the door behind him so Dorothy couldn't follow. He made it down the long drive and planned on cutting through the forest, this September has been full of severe storms usually reserved for spring, so Cas was going to enjoy the clear sunny sky while it lasted. 

 

He typically walked to school when the weather permitted it and if he didn't he'd just catch a ride with Gabe. Mostly Dorothy would follow him to school and then back home when he was done. He didn't want to think of how long he would get the cold shoulder over what he assumes his cat must feel as personal betrayal. 

 

“Cas!” He glanced up at the sound of his name, grinning as Charlie jogged up to him in her star wars shirt proclaiming Princess Leia a badass and a pair of jeans covered in brightly colored paint splotches. She was just shrugging into a denim jacket as she made her way over. 

 

“Charlie,” Cas greeted before the fiery redhead linked her arm through his. “How was your night?” 

 

“Good, I slept like a baby. Yours?” She fiddled with his sleeve as they made their way across the path, crunching on long-dead dried out leaves. 

 

“Homework. The usual, although Gabriel did ‘prank’ me this morning. He changed my alarm to this heinous bird call. Charlie, I didn't even know birds made those kinds of sounds.” He shuddered as they broke through the tree line heading for good ol’ Kansas Prairie High school home of the Prairie dogs. 

 

“At least it wasn't a fox noise. I swear, for something so cute it sounds like a dying wookie.” She muttered, adjusting her backpack before perking up.

 

“Oh would you look at the time,” Charlie practically shouted before lowering her voice and leaning into Castiel's side. “Hottie incoming, I mean he's no Han Solo, but I think you'll manage just fine.” Sure enough, when Castiel glanced up, Inais was making a beeline for them. 

 

“Shit, Charlie wait,” it was useless, of course, once Charlie deemed it her mission to help Castiel discover Inais’s intentions she always found ways to abandon him. 

 

“Castiel,” Inias greeted tugging on his baseball jersey. His blonde hair was in his eyes and while Castiel was nervous he didn't think it was for the right reasons. 

 

“Inais,” Castiel panicked, what did people talk about in polite conversation? “What can I do for you?” Inais watched Castiel with a subtle intensity his eyes flicking down. 

 

“What are you looking at?” Castiel tilted his head to the side, would he ever understand subtle nuances of basic human interaction? Inais started before he schooled his face, Castiel would describe the look as disarming. This was why he hated socializing, people never said what they mean. It was all subtle eye rolls and body language, Castiel had no idea how to navigate these kinds of minefields.

 

“Nothing Cas,” Inais grinned as if sharing a joke, but Castiel didn't get the punchline. Castiel just shrugged before heading back towards the school. It might be rude, well he was self aware enough to know it was rude but better to be rude than uncomfortable. 

 

Castiel made it through his first two classes incident free, but Charlie was going to get an earful for abandoning him to wade his way through uncomfortable small talk.

 

He dumped his books in his locker before heading to the theatre to meet Charlie. “So how was McDreamy?” Charlie clicked her tongue at him sitting back in one of the comfortable chairs, her feet propped up on the row in front of her. 

 

“It was just as awful as I imagined it would be,” Cas made sure the sarcasm dripped from his tone as he took the seat next to Charlie, wishing he could melt into the plush cotton stuffed seats with their hideous grey floral pattern. 

 

“Really? It couldn't be that bad,” Charlie trailed off, eyeing Castiel's clearly painful awkwardness on the subject. “I stand corrected. Well how about we grab some ice-cream from the lunch room and you complain about Dorothy and I'll complain about the lack of available gay women in Toto?” 

 

Castiel nodded, sliding up the seat and hugging his knees to his chest. “I just don't understand what Inais is hoping to get out of our acquaintance. A relationship? A friendship? A person who's homework he could copy?” 

 

“Castiel,” Charlie leaned over resting her head on his shoulder, “Courtship is not this difficult in Moondor. Just take it one day at a time and if the asshat wants to copy your homework, kick him in his dangly bits.” Castiel chuckled, giving Charlie a half hug. 

 

“You're right, I'm worrying about something that might be nothing,” He grinned down at her before quirking an eyebrow at the stage, “what the hell are they doing?” 

 

“Huh? Oh, Cas, I can't believe you have never seen this. Those are the munchkins!” 

 

“Munchkins?” He leaned forward studying the group of teenagers as they sang obnoxiously in high pitched voices while trying to appear no more than three feet in height. “That is, the worst thing I've ever seen.” 

 

“Shut up!” Charlie laughed. “Now let's go buy me an ice cream.” 

 

“Oh, I'm buying now,” Cas joked making sure his wallet was in his pocket as he stood up, pulling Charlie to her feet. 

 

“A queen never buys her own dessert! It's unheard of.” Charlie waved a hand regally. Castiel laughed, motioning for her to head down the aisles. 

 

“After you, my Queen.” 

 

After they got their ice cream and Charlie convinced Castiel to, ’give Inais a break’, the rest of the day just seemed to fly by. It wasn't until he was walking out of the school with his backpack tucked over one shoulder that he finally looked up at the dark swirling clouds. The swirling mass seemed to be moving with purpose, like it was coming for, “Castiel!” Castiel glanced up sharply as a strong wind seemed to be shoving him towards home. His eyes connected with Inais. 

 

“Inais?” Castiel called out moving closer trying to fight the wind that was tugging on his clothes it's as if it wanted him to head towards home.

 

“I'm sorry about earlier,” Inais was a blushing a high red color in his cheeks. “I really just wanted to see if you were free next weekend? I thought maybe we could-” Castiel gaped at the tree line seeing Dorothy patiently waiting for him belly low to the ground. 

 

“Dammit,” he darted towards the cat hoping to nab the stubborn witch quickly, but he wasn't that lucky. With empty hands and a determined stride he called back to Inais, “Sorry I need to get Dorothy out of this weather. Rain check?” He didn't wait for a reply as he followed the cat through the woods. Thankfully it hadn't started to rain yet and Castiel counted his lucky stars that he could still see Dorothy casually making her way through underbrush and back towards the house. The forest was deathly silent, he couldn't remember the last time the forest seemed so still. He moved to pick up Dorothy as soon as they hit the front steps, collecting the purring cat in his arms. Like a switch had been flipped, the wind picked up; shrieking in volume as Castiel's skin prickled with goosebumps. He cursed, his eyes shooting upwards to the flashing sky as lightning streaked across it in a dancing ark. It wasn't a voice, but a feeling seemed to overwhelm Castiel as he backed across the threshold, letting the screen door slam. It overwhelmed him sending him to his knees as he clutched Dorothy. 

 

THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE. THIS ONE.

 

He finally moved towards the window, wincing as the disembodied feeling pressed down on him. Rain erupted following the descent of a swirling dark cloud, a twister. He cursed, falling back into the corner of the living room as he felt the house being picked up into the shrieking tornado as the swirling black mass touched down. He curled up with Dorothy protecting her and his head as he shielded them from flying debris. This was it. The whole house creaked, shaking violently; vibrating through his bones. He clenched his teeth and fucking prayed for the first time in a long time that they would make it out of this alive. He glanced up only once as the house lurched sickeningly through the air and saw the swirling mass outside the front room window. He buried his head beneath the little protection from his arms, he was gonna be sick. It felt like hours, but it could've only been a few minutes before the house finally settled in a last shuddering lurch. He looked up at the destroyed living room, scattered broken picture frames and broken dishes littering the floor, the furniture was scattered as he slowly staggered to his feet. The oppressing feeling was gone as he stumbled to the door, yanking it open; blinded briefly by the surprising sunlight streaming through the screen door. The world outside was bright and green. That was probably the most surprising. It was Fall, but he was looking at a lush and green forest with vines clinging to the tops of the trees. “Dorothy,” Castiel absently pulled the cat closer, his eyes blinking slowly, “I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.”


	3. The Prophecy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam motioned for Castiel to follow, “Well, it all started with a wizard, and not a particularly good one,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to my wonderful amazingly patient beta Infinte_latte. I've been swapped lately with family time and work, but trust me we are back on track for this story. I just watched the wizard of oz episode and Crowley called Sam and Dean the Scarecrow and the Tinman, I might have fangirlled pretty hard that my story is practically canon. Thanks to Crowley. Hope you guys like this update.

Castiel felt his heartbeat quicken to a steady thwack against his ribcage. He had no idea if he was near a town or any type of civilization, but he knew one thing for sure, this was nowhere near Kansas.   
On shaky legs he made his way down the creaking porch steps.   
“Hello?” He called out, his feet crunching on the dried leaves that seemed to litter the forest floor.   
He froze in place when he heard frantic whispers coming from the other side of the house. Cautiously, he made his way around back, freezing in place at the sight before him.   
Two long, stocking legs pointed out from beneath the house, the ground was covered in black tar that, if it had been red, Castiel would have been convinced it was blood. Horrified, he hurried forward. His house had killed someone. He had been in his house when it killed someone. Can a house be considered a murder weapon?   
“Ding dong! She's dead,” one of the people kneeling near the slipper covered feet declared, his brown eyes as wide as saucers.   
The group was dressed in different shades of green, possibly meant to blend into the surrounding foliage. Castiel didn't keep up on hunting traditions and so he didn't know what to expect from these strangers; there were three men and two women. They were all dressed similarly in worn jeans and green shirts with the embroidered red letters ‘OFA’. He filed that away to ask about later, for now he focused on the stocking slippers.   
“You can't be serious, Garth,” a gruff looking man moved forward; kicking a gold handled, polished, wooden broomstick out of his way. He knelt down trying to feel a pulse or for some other sign of life.   
“I'll be damned, the wicked witch is dead.” His beard and trucker hat seemed to mask his awe as the rest of the group gaped at him.   
“Just like that, Bobby?” A women moved forward she had blue eyes and brown hair and gave off a ‘don't fuck with me’ type of aura.  
“I never thought to drop a damn house on the bitch.” She muttered as trucker hat, Bobby, finally locked eyes with Castiel.   
“Um,” Castiel mumbled his face turning a blotched purple, “Did I? Is that,” he couldn't even speak; he felt his face growing red as the group looked over at him, surprised that someone had snuck up on them.  
“Did I kill someone?” He slumped back against the house, his hands shaking where he still clutched Dorothy to his chest.   
“No,” Bobby moved forward taking in Castiel with shrewd eyes. “Not someone, more like... something.”  
Bobby narrowed his eyes on the cat; his head tilting, “your not from around these parts are you, boy?”   
Castiel thought Bobby’s accent might be from Minnesota or one of the Dakotas it sounded familiar, but was missing that southern drawl that peppered the Midwest as far north as Kansas.   
“Uh no, I'm from Kansas.” The group seemed to collectively gasp, gaping at him as they shuffled further away from Castiel. Bobby remained steadfast, his shoulders slumping.   
“How do I get out of here?” Castiel shifted awkwardly as he watched the group eye him uncomfortably with sympathetic looks. The brunette and Bobby began to argue, but Castiel only caught bits and pieces of what they were arguing about.   
“It's too dangerous,” the woman was gesturing with her hands as Castiel tended to Dorothy, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. Did they call the police? Was he going to jail?  
“The brick road,” Bobby clamped his hand on the woman's shoulder, his face almost shrewd in its squint. “What if he's the one.”   
“It's supposed to be a girl,” the woman snapped her face tight. “We can't send him out there to-”  
“Jodie, you realize the wizard isn't exact- it's more like guidelines,” Bobby cut her off.  
“What about the monkeys, they'll come around eventually,” The woman, Jodie, seemed to know she was losing this argument and she appeared none too happy with Bobby's decision. Castiel didn't know what to think as the man stepped towards him. It was clear to him that he had run into some mentally unstable family on a friendly hike and he had just murdered their witch grandmother they had brought along - but clearly didn't have any affection for - with his house. He would just have to explain to the police when he made it into town.   
Bobby clamped a hand on his shoulder, distracting Castiel from his thoughts,  
“Okay,” he hummed a little before locking eyes with Castiel, he was no longer undecided; his mind clearly made up.   
“Town is that way,” Bobby gestured to a worn path through the underbrush, “in an hour you will get to the road, follow it. Don't stray from the path unless necessary; don't sleep anywhere but above ground; don't talk to anyone unless they are OFA; hide if you hear anything strange; and no matter what, follow the yellow brick road.”   
Bobby leaned over, grabbing an offered pack from the closest man, “Thanks Garth.”   
He handed the pack to Castiel, “Take it son, it was a spare.”   
Castiel took the pack, surprised. He must be farther from town then he thought.   
“Thank you,” Cas turned, sliding the pack over his shoulder and placing Dorothy on her feet. He pointed at her as she gazed up at him.  
“Follow,” he commanded, before straightening up glancing at the group who watched him with mixed expressions of fear, and what was possibly disappointment. He moved towards the trail with trepidation, he was trusting these strangers to point him in the right direction but it never hurt to be cautious.   
Before he could disappear into the brush the woman, Jodie, called out to him, “What's your name? We didn't catch it?”   
Cas turned back sheepishly before nodding, “My name is Castiel and this beautiful girl is my cat, Dorothy.” Cas watched as Jodie’s eye twitched at the name, he shrugged, chalking it up to the fact that the group was strange.   
Bobby shuffled on his feet before giving a last ominous warning, “Watch out for lions and tigers and bears,”   
Castiel felt his breath catch, “Oh my, well I'll be careful. Thanks again.” Castiel gave the group one last awkward wave before disappearing into the forest, Dorothy following along behind.   
Bobby looked down at Jodie, “What did I tell you?” Jodie scoffed, “could be a coincidence but for once I wish we could protect them, the Others never make it long.” Bobby grabbed his pack from the ground before wrapping a spare shirt around his hand and picking up the broom.  
“Jodie, even the Oz Free Army isn't clear of the Witch's spies. We have to follow the prophecy or we will never be truly free of her iron fist; Castiel is different.”   
Jodie frowned at him, “Yeah and what about Jo? Huh? What about Hannah? Cassie? What about all the ones that we failed?”  
Bobby rubbed his beard, his eyes darkening, they all felt responsible for those failures, “We have to have hope that Castiel and Dorothy can save Oz.” 

 

Castiel moved quickly down the path, worried about what his mom and Gabriel must be thinking. He hoped they didn't think he was dead. His mother would be raising hell to find him while his brother would be cursing him silly for going in after the cat, but she was as much family as anyone. He wouldn't change a thing, especially now that they were both safe on solid ground. Castiel was thankful that he did long distance treks since the path seemed endless, his thighs burned and his feet were sore. He almost face planted on the road when his foot caught on a displaced brick. He glanced up sharply at the dilapidated bricks that seemed to make up the road. They were a dull yellow, chipped in some places. He followed the twisting yellow bricks, covering his eyes to block the glare from the sun. In the distance, a city rose into the clouds appearing emerald in the fading light.  
“Well fuck,” he cursed, the city had to be a few miles away and the sun was already setting. Traveling in the dark seemed like an irresponsible idea, considering Bobby had warned him off of it. Especially if the forest was home to lions, tigers and bears. He opened the pack sighing in relief when he spotted a water canteen.  
Making a bowl out of his hands, Castiel let Dorothy have the first sips of the cool liquid before satisfying his own thirst.   
“Well, looks like beef jerky it is.”   
He tore up some small pieces for the cat before munching on his own. While Dorothy poked at her food, Cas picked out a tree off the road. He shimmied up the tree to set up the small suspended tent that was in his bag. Setting up the suspension tent high off the ground was not an easy feat, especially after such a long day. It was dark by the time Castiel finally felt like they wouldn't fall to their deaths if they climbed inside. He scooped Dorothy up and put her on his shoulder as he made the climb into the tent, zipping it closed behind him. This way, Dorothy couldn't try to escape to explore while he was sleeping. As soon as he settled inside the tent and Dorothy curled up to his side, Castiel fell into an exhausted sleep.   
He woke slowly, cracking one eye open and trying to gauge what had woke him. The first thing that seemed to register was the swaying, this wasn't his bedroom and he was clearly still inside the suspension tent he had secured the night before. Secondly, there must’ve been something else that woke him; Dorothy was near but quiet, in fact the whole forest that had once been teeming with life was silent. Not even an insect dared to make a sound. Castiel felt a shiver of awareness shoot up his spine; something was wrong, very wrong. The branches groaned near the tent as Castiel slowly creeped to the edge where the zipper wasn't tugged up all the way. He peeked outside keeping his breathing silent, even when he felt blood thundering in his ears. He was relying on his animal instincts: stay quiet, don't move too quickly and whatever you do don't let them find you. Whoever they are. Castiel pressed his face to the zipper, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was out there.  
He saw two blurred shapes a little bit smaller than himself near his tent but they weren't looking in his direction, the voices seemed to be hissing at each other.   
“I'm telling you I can smell the Other,” it hissed, picking at the other shadow’s shoulder.  
“Gordon, we've searched the woods, she's not here.” The other shadow spoke calmly while Gordon seemed to shake with rage.  
“You are wrong, Uriel, I know she's here. It would please the queen if we ended this one quickly. With her sister's murder circulating, it's causing uprisings.”   
Gordon clicked his teeth before finally looking in Castiel’s direction. He couldn't help it, he gasped. The thing was grotesque; stringy fur covered in blood sharp hideous teeth and black eyes. Its sheer size bigger than any monkey Castiel had ever seen. He must be dreaming. The two heads snapped up, focusing on his tent.  
Shit. Fuck. Not a dream then. He had seconds as the one called Gordon grinned before grabbing a branch and swinging himself forward. Castiel scrambled. He grabbed the pack and Dorothy, cradling them both in his arms as he dove out of the tent feet first. The monkeys crashed into the suspension tent, sending it crashing to the ground somewhere to Castiel's left. He hit the ground hard after getting smacked by a few branches. Scrambling to his feet, Dorothy still safely cradled in his arms, he took off back towards the road. The woods were a no go, they had the upper hand and Castiel was grateful he had made it to the clearing where the city gleamed in the distance. The open space was peppered with fields and then more woods in the distance. Maybe Dorothy and him could lay low in one of the cornfields. He took off just as he heard the monkey’s crashing through the brush after him. Castiel skidded down the hill, throwing himself into the first corn patch tall enough to hide him. He crept forward, trying to create distance without disturbing the stalks. He was breathing heavy while the adrenaline of fight or flight pumped through his veins.   
“Little girl,” Gordon hissed, “come out, come out, wherever you are.”   
By the way they were referring to him, they hadn't seen him yet. That's a plus. He kept moving; the stalks were digging at him, his ankle was swelling up from the fall, and Dorothy had bit him once in irritation. It could've been worse. Castiel almost cursed aloud when he crashed into a scarecrows perch, digging his knee into the wood. Castiel hissed in pain, dropping the bag and a surprised Dorothy before glancing up at the scarecrow. What had once been cloth and straw was now a living breathing human. Castiel felt his cry choke in his throat as the Scarecrow climbed down from his perch, stretching his muscles. He looked to be about 16, not much younger then Castiel himself.  
“You must be an Other,” the Scarecrow mused, brushing off flakes of straw from the itchy wool coat he was wearing, “I am Scarecrow.”   
Castiel swallowed thickly as the boy noticed crashing through the cornfield; he glanced up, scanning the corn before narrowing his eyes at Castiel. “Monkeys?”   
Castiel nodded as the boy bent down, scooping up the backpack before he grabbed Castiel’s wrist and pulled him deeper into the cornfield. Straw poked at his raw skin where the boy gripped his wrist as they made their way through the corn. He glanced down and saw that there were straw bands surrounding the boy's wrists and ankles, like thick bracelets.   
"They're shackles," the boy blew his floppy brown hair out of his face. Scarecrow didn't seem concerned about keeping quiet, so Castiel followed his lead.   
"It's just straw, can you not remove it?" Castiel frowned, reaching to pull on Scarecrow's wrist. It didn't budge an inch, like suddenly it was made from steel instead of prickly straw.  
"Why do you call yourself Scarecrow?" Castiel asked, tilting his head. A frown settled on his face as they moved out of the cornfield and back into the forest.  
He watched the younger boy shrug, "It's what they call me here, but if you would prefer to call me by my given name, its Sam."   
Castiel was sure he was having some weird dreams lately, no more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before bed. Castiel leaned down and picked up Dorothy, despite her undignified yowl.   
Sam smiled at him. “Who is this beautiful lady?” He reached forward, scratching Dorothy under the chin as she preened at the compliment.   
“This is Dorothy, she--” Cas trailed off at Sam's sharp look up.   
“Your cat is named Dorothy?”   
“Yes, Sam, and mine is Castiel.” Castiel couldn't hear the monkeys anymore, they seemed to have slipped away from them. “Your nose is bleeding.”   
Sam nodded, brushing away the blood, “I figured it would be, Cas-T-el.” Sam grinned, trying to pronounce Castiel's name.   
“I've never met an Other quite like you.” Sam crept through the jungle.   
Castiel tugged on his arm, now that they were safe. “Sam, who are you? What is an Other? And why the hell were those animals talking?”   
Sam grinned, already noticing that Castiel was something special, “I imagine you're really confused and I'll explain everything to you, but first we need to find the Tinman.”   
Castiel scowled, taking the backpack from Sam's hands and scooping up Dorothy before gently arranging her inside it. “Who is the Tinman?”   
Sam motioned for Castiel to follow, “Well, it all started with a wizard, and not a particularly good one,”


End file.
